Los Angeles' Best Kept Secret

Fairfax High School

Instead of striking water, colonial settler Arthur Fremont Gilmore struck black gold in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles in 1901. Gilmore’s discovery prompted an oil exploration that led to the discovery of the Salt Lake oil fields. In 1924, the Fairfax High School was built directly on top of that field. A methane gas explosion in 1989 led to harsher building codes in the area to protect residents.